Getty Image / Peter Joneleit
The University of Miami’s football program got some disappointing news earlier in the week.
They lost 4-star interior offensive lineman, Connor Lew, after he decommitted from their Class of 2023.
Today, they bounced back from that disappointment in a big way. After losing a 4-star offensive lineman, they went out and landed a 5-star offensive lineman.
According to 247 Sports’ Steve Wiltfong, offensive tackle Samson Okunlola has committed to Miami.
BREAKING: Thayer Academy OT Samson
Okunlola commits to #Miami, giving Mario Cristobal and his staff a second five-star at the position in joining Francis Mauigoa, adding to a class now ranked No. 3 nationally by the @247Sports Composite: https://t.co/2xCCU41Uw6— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) December 15, 2022
Okunlola revealed the reasoning behind his decision to On3 Sports.
I say just the strong bond a relationship I had with the staff. I have a great relationship with them and really feel like they care.
Okunlola is the 14th ranked player in the class, 3rd at his position, and 1st from the state of Massachusetts according to 247 Sports. He joins a Miami recruiting class that is currently ranked 3rd in the Class of 2023. That class already featured a pair of 5-star recruits. including another 5-star offensive tackle.
The other 5-star offensive tackle is Francis Mauigoa, who is the 6th overall recruit in the class.
The additions of these two lineman should help fix one major issue for the Hurricanes.
Miami’s offense was bad in a few ways this season. One that really stands out is their pass protection. Miami allowed 36 sacks last season, which put them outside of the top 100 in the country in sacks allowed.
That certainly isn’t the only thing Miami needs to fix on offense heading into 2023, but landing a pair of tackles that are in the top-15 in their recruiting class should help improve an offense that struggled this year.